Yankee Bones Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Howdy Pards, I've recently been able to reload and shoot my own ammo. Because I'm new to reloading, I'm wondering how many reloads I should expect from assorted brass. I'm sure brand and loads make a difference, but I'm looking for an average to set my expectations. If I can reload my brass three times before I start seeing failures, is that good? Maybe five times? Thanks! Yankee Quote
Doc Moses Posted July 6 Posted July 6 For cowboy loads, load em until they split but...my personal experience is that nickel plated brass splits more easily than brass so I do not use it at all. Especially not in a rifle. Others don't seem to have any issues so it's your call 6 Quote
Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Factors such as powder loads and bullet weight figure into this as well as chamber(s) size. Larger chambers will allow brass to expand more, which works the brass when it's resized during the reloading process I have some brass that has been reloaded 5 times, some last all of 1 time. I know some cowfolk who shoot till the brass splits--not something for the faint of heart but it does happend 1 Quote
Matthew Duncan Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I have Starline brass that is about 25 years old that’s been reloaded approximately 4 or 5 times a year. Started with 500 pieces and today I have approximately 150 left. I lose more at matches (not found) then I do to spilts. As others have stated, shoot it until it splits. SASS ain’t high +P+ ammo. 8 Quote
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 (edited) I routinely get at least 10 reloads from our pistol caliber gallery-level loads. Brass turns out to NOT be a major expense in Cowboy shooting. .38 specials will commonly split the necks with less loading, due to the thinner brass walls. .44-40 and .45 Colt lasts a LONG time. My rifles get new-ish brass because a case split in them can cost you a ton of "lost score" since rounds you cannot fire (due to a stuck case) but leave in the magazine are counted as rifle misses. good luck, GJ Edited July 6 by Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 4 Quote
Griff Posted July 6 Posted July 6 LIke GJ, I expect about 10 reloads out of a piece of brass. 4 Quote
Go West Posted July 6 Posted July 6 The majority of my .38 Special brass is in excess of 20 years old and will be going strong after I'm gone. .38 nickel brass with a cannelure is the worst for a rifle as it may split at the cannelure leaving an annoying piece in the chamber when it happens. I toss every piece I find. I get more Schofield splits than anything I would presume to be from oversize chambers in my revolvers. Still, the majority are still chugging along. Some folks actually keep track of how many times they reload, my brother the engineer would likely have them recorded in a spreadsheet. 😁 I wouldn't worry about it................yet. 2 Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 (edited) I shoot nickel-plated brass and much-reloaded brass in my revolvers as a split case will not lock up the firearm. However, I shoot virgin or once-fired brass in my lever-action rifles at major matches to avoid a split case that might lockup the action. High-power rifle shooters get fewer reloads from their brass as it is more heavily stressed that our light cowboy loads. Edited July 6 by Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 4 Quote
High Spade Mikey Wilson Posted July 6 Posted July 6 52 minutes ago, Doc Moses said: For cowboy loads, load em until they split but...my personal experience is that nickel plated brass splits more easily than brass so I do not use it at all. Especially not in a rifle. Others don't seem to have any issues so it's your call ThIs...... 1 Quote
Sheriff Dill Posted July 6 Posted July 6 20 minutes ago, Go West said: The majority of my .38 Special brass is in excess of 20 years old and will be going strong after I'm gone. .38 nickel brass with a cannelure is the worst for a rifle as it may split at the cannelure leaving an annoying piece in the chamber when it happens. I toss every piece I find. I get more Schofield splits than anything I would presume to be from oversize chambers in my revolvers. Still, the majority are still chugging along. Some folks actually keep track of how many times they reload, my brother the engineer would likely have them recorded in a spreadsheet. 😁 I wouldn't worry about it................yet. I have all of our brass separated in containers labeled how many reloads they have on them. Definitely not a spread sheet but that’s a great idea. Thanks 😁 2 Quote
J.D. Daily Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I mark the case with a dash every time it's reloaded. I recently purchased a case annealing machine to extend the life of cases. The reason I reload 223/5.56, 308/7.62 & 300BO fired in several semi-auto rifles; therefore, they are full case resized. This stresses the bottleneck cases more than neck resizing which shortens the number of reloads. 2 Quote
Frontier Lone Rider Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Knowing that the nickel-plated brass does not last as long, I still load some for using at ranges with a lot of grass. I can spot the nickel easier in the grass than the brass. 2 Quote
Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I rarely see a split case in 45 brass or nickel plate. Sometimes I accidentally destroy one for other reasons. Other calibers like 38, 38-40 and 44-40 I have no experience with. Horace 1 Quote
Three Foot Johnson Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I've never kept track of my CAS brass reloading cycles, but I've got a few nickeled .38's that have been through the sizer die so many times, they've lost enough nickel to be almost indistinguishable from brass cases. 7 Quote
I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Load them until they split. Keeping track of the number of how many times it's been reloaded is a chore in itself. I have brass that have been reloaded more than 10 times and they are still intact. Nickel brass is short lived; they will split sooner than later. I don't worry much if I lose some brass during a shoot, it'll get replenish when I reload once fired 38s for a major match and they all go back into the pile of my used brass. I do inspect my reloads before each stage prior to loading it into my firearms, if it looks good then it's good to go, if not they go into my disassembly/salvage pile and separate all component and discard the bad part. YMMV, just be safe and be mindful of your reloading. Good luck. 1 Quote
Yankee Bones Posted July 6 Author Posted July 6 Thank you all for the information! It's all new to me, so I'm trying to calibrate my expectations on all the different aspects to reloading. I have been using nickel brass on my .357 lever rifle, so I'll be on the lookout for some non-nickel replacements. Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 1 hour ago, Yankee Bones said: Thank you all for the information! It's all new to me, so I'm trying to calibrate my expectations on all the different aspects to reloading. I have been using nickel brass on my .357 lever rifle, so I'll be on the lookout for some non-nickel replacements. Consider Starline brass. I get much of mine using gift certificates at major matches. (Starline is a generous supporter of SASS.) I load the virgin brass for major matches and then it goes into the pile of brass used for practice and local matches. 3 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I have never attempted to keep track of how many times I reload a particular piece of brass. Like others have said, I just reload 'em till they split, then I throw 'em away. And while we're at it, I've got some AA that are over 50 years ago that were first purchased by my father, and he was a trap shooter, so they've been reloaded, many, many times. 3 Quote
Three Foot Johnson Posted July 6 Posted July 6 4 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: I have never attempted to keep track of how many times I reload a particular piece of brass. Like others have said, I just reload 'em till they split, then I throw 'em away. What?? After they develop neck cracks, you spend an inordinate amount of time trimming them down, reaming them, and making them into .38 S&W brass! 1 Quote
Michigan Slim Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I've got 38 brass that I know has been loaded thirty plus times. 4 Quote
Dubious Don #56333 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 I used to "rotate" all of my brass. For monthly matches I wasn't as picky using high round count brass as I was for loads used at say, EOT. 3 Quote
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 (edited) 45 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: And while we're at it, I've got some AA that are over 50 years ago that were first purchased by my father, and he was a trap shooter, so they've been reloaded, many, many times. Those hulls last for many, many reloads and are of a different construction than today’s. Present day AAs are good for maybe 2-3 smokeless reloads and then I relegate them to the bucket for (real) black powder loading. After one firing they’re toast and get tossed. I miss the old style. Edited July 7 by Abilene Slim SASS 81783 1 Quote
Rye Miles #13621 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 Yep, I’m in the load em until they split camp. I’ve been loading .38’s for about 6-7 years and they’re still going strong except for some nickel brass that split. I was loading .44-40 before that and they lasted a long time too but I did get more split cases with that caliber. I shot .45Colt before that and it was a rare occasion that I had a split case. 2 Quote
Crisco Posted July 7 Posted July 7 There was an article in, I think, Guns & Ammo back around 1979 where a guy decided to figure out how long .38 brass would last. He got over 140 reloads out of a plain brass .38 with a 148WC load, and over 50 in nickel cases with a full powered 158gr load. You might still find the article on line. Like it has been said above, load them till they split, just inspect the ones destined for a rifle carefully. 3 Quote
Doc Moses Posted July 7 Posted July 7 6 hours ago, Yankee Bones said: Thank you all for the information! It's all new to me, so I'm trying to calibrate my expectations on all the different aspects to reloading. I have been using nickel brass on my .357 lever rifle, so I'll be on the lookout for some non-nickel replacements. Yeah, I was going to switch to brass 357 cases. I looked at ordering some from Starline (great brass). Then I thought, "what am I doing? I have tons of 38 special brass that has always worked and it's paid for." I was going to switch so I wouldn't get a carbon ring at the end of the 38special case and not be able to chamber 357...I don't shoot 357 so why worry? I also tend to clean my guns so it might not be an issue anyway. Shorter cases tend to do better with light loads etc. If you have to order brass get 357, if you have 38spec use it and save money. I found the length that functioned with 38spec and load to that with whichever bullet I have. KISS technique Keep It Simple Silly 3 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 12 hours ago, Three Foot Johnson said: What?? After they develop neck cracks, you spend an inordinate amount of time trimming them down, reaming them, and making them into .38 S&W brass! ??? Well, I don't load, I assume, 38 Special or .357 Magnum all that much, but you can't trim either to .38 S&W. You could trim them to .38 Short Colt, but that seems to me to be far more trouble than it's worth. When my .45 brass splits, it SPLITS. I don't just get a neck crack, I get a gash in the case from mouth to almost the rim. No point in doing anything BUT throwing 'em out. Although, I have heard tell that there are those who horde their split brass, and then when it reaches a certain amount the melt it down and sell it for scrap metal. As someone who hordes his change without spending it so he can have an extra $1000 every 18 months or so, I suppose I could be patient enough to do that. Maybe. 1 Quote
Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 56 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Although, I have heard tell that there are those who horde their split brass, and then when it reaches a certain amount the melt it down and sell it for scrap metal. I sell my scrap brass to a local metal recycler - no melting involved. I also sell crushed aluminum cans and spent primers (but not 209s). My scrap brass includes split brass, inferior brass like Amerc, and Berdan primed rifle brass. I don't get much but it seems wrong to toss this material. 3 Quote
Sheriff Dill Posted July 7 Posted July 7 Our local scrapyard pays almost $2 lb I have a 5 gallon bucket under my reloading bench that all scrap brass goes into. 4 Quote
Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L Posted July 7 Posted July 7 3 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said: I sell my scrap brass to a local metal recycler - no melting involved. I also sell crushed aluminum cans and spent primers (but not 209s). My scrap brass includes split brass, inferior brass like Amerc, and Berdan primed rifle brass. I don't get much but it seems wrong to toss this material. Do you have to deprime the cases before turning them in? 1 Quote
Three Foot Johnson Posted July 7 Posted July 7 (edited) 7 hours ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: ??? Well, I don't load, I assume, 38 Special or .357 Magnum all that much, but you can't trim either to .38 S&W. You could trim them to .38 Short Colt, but that seems to me to be far more trouble than it's worth. ??? Now I'm the confused one... ... why can't .38 Spl or .357 be trimmed shorter?? Trimmed 357 magnum, trimmed 38 special, 38 short Colt, and 38 S&W All of them get used in my .38 S&W revolvers. "... more trouble than it's worth" has already been established. Edited July 7 by Three Foot Johnson 1 Quote
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 1 hour ago, Three Foot Johnson said: ??? Now I'm the confused one... ... why can't .38 Spl or .357 be trimmed shorter?? It can, just not to .38 S&W. .357 Magnum made shorter is .38 Special. .38 Special made shorter is .38 Long Colt. .38 Long Colt made shorter is .38 Short Colt. .38 S&W is a completely different animal. .38 Short Colt Case type rimmed, straight Bullet diameter .375 inches (9.5 mm) for original heeled bullets, .358 inches (9.1 mm) for some modern loads Neck diameter .379 in (9.6 mm) Base diameter .379 in (9.6 mm) Rim diameter .445 in (11.3 mm) Rim thickness .060 in (1.5 mm) Case length .765 in (19.4 mm) Overall length 1.2 in (30.48 mm) .38 S&W Case type Rimmed straight Bullet diameter .361 in (9.2 mm) Neck diameter .3855 in (9.79 mm) Base diameter .3865 in (9.82 mm) Rim diameter .440 in (11.2 mm) Rim thickness .055 in (1.4 mm) Case length .775 in (19.7 mm) Overall length 1.240 in (31.5 mm) Primer type Small pistol Very similar, but not the same. .38 S&W is ever so slightly larger. It will not fit in the chambers of the Short Colt to Magnum family. .38 Short Colt will chamber in a .38 S&W, but it won't fit. It'll be rather loose. It is slightly lower pressure, but, it just feels like a bad idea to me on several levels. Now, I will admit that a few times when I am sorting out my .38 S&W brass to clean and reload that there has been a random Short Colt mixed in with it that seemed to sufffer no ill effects, but I just don't wanna go there. 1 Quote
Crisco Posted July 7 Posted July 7 “Do you have to deprime the cases before turning them in?” Not around here, as long as they are not live primers. The primers are also brass (except for shotgun) so I also keep all my spent primers to take along with the split cases and such. About $2 a pound lately. 3 Quote
Black Angus McPherson Posted July 7 Posted July 7 29 minutes ago, Crisco said: “Do you have to deprime the cases before turning them in?” Not around here, as long as they are not live primers. The primers are also brass (except for shotgun) so I also keep all my spent primers to take along with the split cases and such. About $2 a pound lately. The local scrap guy here won't take cartridge brass. He claims it is a different alloy than other brass scrap and I think he's afraid of live primers. I'm not sure what to do with it. If I had the capability of melting it down into ingots I'd do that. I hate to just throw it away. I wonder if any of the local High Schools still have a shop class that uses brass? Angus 1 Quote
Eyesa Horg Posted July 7 Posted July 7 8 minutes ago, Black Angus McPherson said: The local scrap guy here won't take cartridge brass. He claims it is a different alloy than other brass scrap and I think he's afraid of live primers. I'm not sure what to do with it. If I had the capability of melting it down into ingots I'd do that. I hate to just throw it away. I wonder if any of the local High Schools still have a shop class that uses brass? Angus Look into another scrap yard. 1 2 Quote
Griff Posted July 7 Posted July 7 4 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said: Do you have to deprime the cases before turning them in? Different scrap dealers, different rules, I had one in Dallas refuse to give me "clean brass" price" if cases had nickeled primers, but brass primers were ok. Another didn't care, but his brass price was lower... ISTR, the difference was only a penny or two per 1b. between "clean" or "contaminated" brass, the other guy was a nickle cheaper regardless, but also charged less for WW, same ol' same ol' for pure lead. And since I usually just spent what I earned on brass for lead... didn't make sense to add another stop to a trip to Dallas... Been a while since I've done that... probably have enough WW & lead to last the rest of my shooting career. 2 Quote
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